Vehicle Equipment Security: Protecting Your Driver and Others

We all go through our days assuming the worst isn't going to happen to us. But every night on the news we see videos and photos of the worst happening to someone. For us in the  pest control and lawn care industry the importance of minimizing the risks is, at least, doubled because we carry chemicals with us. 

There are real world examples of accidents that could have been avoided with a  simple safety check. Is everything strapped down tight? Can this roll around the back of the truck? Will this fly out of the vehicle if I have to stop quickly? Taking just 15 seconds to ensure a resounding NO is worth the time. The monetary damage of an accident is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of chemical spill clean-up, environmental fines and there is no cost for the loss of life.

Ensure you check your truck before driving. Every time.

Stay tuned for more videos on Vehicle Equipment Security...

Andrew Greess: So, vehicle equipment security.

Why should you care about the security of the equipment in your vehicle? This is why. This is the nightmare scenario. This is an actual photo I found on the Internet.

This is a termite company in Florida, and what happened was, this individual had a 50 gallon drum of termiticide in his vehicle, lost control, and the 50 gallon drum came out the top of the vehicle.

The good news is, no one was killed, but clearly, this was on the news. It's hard to see, but it looks like there's a body of water in the background. Can you imagine if you dumped a 50 gallon drum of termiticide in a lake or something? The cost, there's not enough money in the world to take care of that. 

This is the worst case scenario, and I just want to start with a shocker so that you're paying attention to some of the stuff I'm going to show you, because these are real. One of the most important things I'm going to say today is, just because you have it in your vehicle, don't assume it's attached, don't assume it's secure. 

Another way to say that is, just because something is secure under normal driving conditions doesn't mean it's secure in an emergency. If you're driving 25 miles an hour through a neighborhood and everything is fine, that's one thing, but what happens if one of your customers or a neighborhood kid has a ball go in the street and you have to jam on the breaks? Is it still secure? 

You're on the freeway, someone is texting, and they cut you off, and you've got to swerve, or someone T-bones you in an intersection. Is it secure then?

The easy thing to say is, "That will never happen to me." On the other hand, we all watch every day on the news, you see these nightmare scenarios, and it's worse for us because we've got chemicals in our truck. 

Don't assume it's attached, and I really want to get you in the habit of, before you drive off, take 15 seconds and check your equipment and make sure it's secure, and is it going to hold if I have a problem? Is it going to be secure?

Here are some examples. Here is an example of a guy who drove off thinking his load was secure, and what do you know, it wasn't. 

If you missed the first 3 videos in the series, please check out those blog posts here:

Spray Equipment Safety Training Seminar Introduction

Rules for Spray Equipment Safety Seminar Discussion

What are the Safety Risk Seminar Topics?

You can also check out the slides from the Spray Equipment Safety Seminar here: